A reference photo of a dancer allows Craig Nelson to emphasize gesture in a charcoal drawing and capture an exciting pose not possible with a live model. In this DVD workshop Craig eases into the drawing by translating lines from his photo to his paper. He concentrates on angles and uses an imaginary grid and plumb lines to render a ghost drawing of his subject. You’ll have continual access to Craig’s reference photo as he works, allowing you to follow his interpretation of gesture.

Using charcoal, pastel and CarbOthello pencils you can learn to master the art of portrait drawing with professor of illustration Craig Nelson. With this instructional DVD workshop, Drawing a Duotone Portrait, you will soon master portrait drawing following the logical and intuitive progression Craig has refined. Craig Nelson emphasizes logical order while drawing. He compares his drawing process to focusing a photograph.

This DVD drawing workshop is great for anyone interested in drawing, whether you want to improve your painting skills or just enjoy knocking out a quick sketch. Part of what you learn is how to block in preliminary shapes, achieve proper placement and proportion, and how to pick out and render elements for a convincing three-dimensional scene.

Craig Nelson uses his quick studies approach to develop a portrait of an in-studio model, in a logical manner, from a line drawing to a beautiful three dimensional portrait. Craig discusses and demonstrates: lighting; preparing the painting surface; developing a ghost drawing to a final drawing; color selections; blocking in skin tones and hair; subtle adjustments to achieve lifelike flesh; when not to refine your strokes; and delicate brush work for successful hair.

Learn more in less time with Quick Studies. Craig Nelson's exciting one-hour sessions help you hone your skills without spending days on a single painting. Craig's dynamic approach works with any subject matter.
In this workshop, he paints a floral from life and a figure from photo reference. In both demonstrations, you'll see a time-tested approach to developing oil paintings.

Capture the mood of a moment with Craig Nelson’s plein air oil painting techniques. In this DVD workshop, you’ll learn to be observant and decisive enough to paint inviting landscapes within the time constraint of a shifting sun. Craig pushes you beyond static green trees and boring blue water to find the variations and intriguing accent colors that make nature complex and beautiful.

Stop staring at blank canvas and start painting. With Craig Nelson’s simple method for still life, you’ll overcome your hesitation and kick start your career in oil. You’ll develop foundation skills, create a path for improvement, and even save money at the art store. You’ll build an affordable kit as Craig walks you through essential materials and navigates the pitfalls of store displays. You’ll learn to paint vibrant scenes with only four colors and four brushes.

Join Martha Saudek, CAC, as she proceeds through a series of considerations to best achieve a balanced, cohesive oil landscape painting. Martha chooses a subject from her source material and selects a canvas shape to best fit it. She creates a series of thumbnail compositions based on the shape to determine a design with clarity and focus. After planning her layout, Martha chooses a dominant color temperature and explores her options for value distribution.

Learn to combine materials to create vibrant art from mixed-media artist Sean Dye. You learn how to layer materials in order to achieve the versatility of mixed-media without sacrificing long-term survivability. Sean demonstrates the tools & techniques to combine charcoal, India ink, acrylic gouache and water-soluble oils on the same canvas.

Sean Dye will lead you through a complete oil landscape painting. He will show his unique, exciting approach to capturing the outside world. The whole painting is created with non-toxic, yet permanent pigments, as well as low odor solvent and painting medium. You will learn everything you need to know about sketching the composition, under-painting, mixing color and using layers of color.